he U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday passed a massive $3.5 trillion dollar budget deal. The six Republican members of Alabama’s House congressional delegation voted against the spending bill, which they warn increases the national debt and the size and scope of the federal government beyond historical norms. “Once again, I am disappointed, but not […]
Democrats need to take responsibility for their $5.4 trillion spending spree. Senate Democrats have passed a $3.5 trillion budget resolution, unlocking their ability to pass a tax-and-spend boondoggle later this fall. This comes on the heels of the $1.9 trillion package enacted along partisan lines and dubiously marketed as Covid-19 relief. Democrats didn’t care about […]
In promoting his own spending priorities, President Joe Biden blamed his predecessor’s “unpaid tax cuts and other spending” for increasing the national debt by nearly $8 trillion over four years. The total debt figure is correct, but trillions of that were due to bipartisan coronavirus relief packages. Biden made the criticism of former President […]
The Trumpist Republican Party has shown it will toy with democracy. Now President Joe Biden is testing its willingness to play with economic fire. The test comes in the upcoming showdown over raising the federal debt limit, a painful political chore that periodically falls to Congress when the Treasury exhausts the amount of borrowing that […]
Another big fight is brewing over the U.S. debt ceiling, which is a statutory limit on how much the government can borrow to pay its bills. In an interview, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said Republicans won’t agree to lift the debt ceiling in “this free-for-all for taxes and spending” environment. Congress suspended the debt ceiling in 2019 for two […]
America’s debt isn’t like other kinds of debt, or even other countries’ debts. On today’s show, we’ll break down how this perennial partisan fight works. The debt ceiling debate is full of contradictions. It’s real but it’s not real. It’s a problem but it’s not a problem. The federal borrowing limit has been suspended since 2019, […]
A lot of people don’t care about the nation’s growing debt. Some believe that low interest rates for the foreseeable future essentially means a free lunch for the government. Others believe that no matter what the cost of this debt, it is all worth it because of the purported higher returns on government spending. But […]
One of the nation’s leading experts on fiscal policy told attendees of Monday’s fourth Seminars at Steamboat talk that the state of the U.S. fiscally is “really, really bad.” Maya MacGuineas said every red light warning sign is currently blinking, as the cost of interest on the national debt is now the country’s fastest growing […]
As a nation, we have become addicted to budget deficits. Each year, we have to borrow fund government operations. And most people, including our legislators, do not seem to care or take notice. As readers realize, a budget deficit occurs when expenses exceed revenue. Accrued deficits form the national debt. Thus, the […]
Visual Capitalist has created an interactive visualization of the publicly-held portion of the U.S. government’s public debt. It covers 150 years, combining historic data from 1900 through 2020 with CBO projections for the next 30 years. You’ll need to follow the link above to take advantage of the interactivity, but here’s the big picture they created: […]
